PCC have not responded to a complaint about how they handled a planning application in Guilsfield
“A growing frustration” on how planning applications are being dealt with by Powys County Council is being felt in parts of Montgomeryshire, community councillors have been told.
At a meeting of Guilsfield Community Council Chairman, Councillor Ian Harrison, gave an update on the formal complaint the council lodged with the county council over the way it had handled a planning application in the village.
In October 2020, the county council’s planning committee approved an outline planning application to build nine homes at the former Fairview garage in the middle of Guilsfield.
The community council thought that the application was on hold due to the Covid-19 crisis, and had not given the county council an opinion on the scheme before it was decided.
Community council meetings were suspended from March to September, and during that time members had not met to discuss the application, which had also been submitted to the county council in March.
But the county council said that the community council was emailed a week before the planning meeting and had been given sufficient time to consider the application.
At the community council meeting on January 14, Councillor Harrison, told councillors that a formal complaint had been lodged before December 16.
Councillor Harrison, said: “I’ve not heard anything at all.
“However you will have noted that a resident of Montgomery is currently taking Powys planners to judicial review over maladministration of a separate planning application, there were articles in the local press very recently.”
Councillor Harrison was referring to an detailed planning application for a two-storey three-bedroom house with detached garages at Pwll Farm, Hendomen near Montgomery.
It has recently been given planning approval by Powys planners.
Hendomen resident Bruce Lawson has applied for a judicial review of the decision.
Councillor Harrison added: “Our own case was mentioned, there does appear to be a growing frustration to how planning applications are actually treated, certainly in this part of the county.”
He said that he would “chase up” the complaint with the county council’s Monitoring Officer, Clive Pinney, to find out why no response had been received yet.
Guilsfield Community Council had explored the possibility of holding a judicial review into the decision, but was advised that the legal route would be costly.
